Chapter 28

Art: Photography

The entries in this section include books and articles
which are relevant to the study of Mt. Shasta photography. Some
of America's best-known 19th and 20th Century photographers,
including Carlton Watkins, William Henry Jackson, Ansel Adams,
Edward Weston, and Imogen Cunningham have produced images of Mt.
Shasta, and their work is listed in this section. Mt. Shasta is
perhaps unique in California in having the unusual lens-shaped
lenticular clouds which, at certain times of the year, hover
over the mountain. The 1986 book Celestial Raise contains
perhaps the best collection of photographs of these lenticular
cloud formations. There are fine photographs of Mt. Shasta in
many books entered in other sections of this bibliography, see
for example Michael Zanger's extensively illustrated 1992 Mt.
Shasta: History, Legend and Lore. Individual unpublished 19th
and 20th Century photographs of Mt. Shasta, of which there must
be thousands, are not listed, though the College of the
Siskiyous Library does have a large collection of such pictures.

Visit the online bibliography to search bibliographic entries or browse the entries below.
The [MS number] indicates the Mount Shasta Special Collection accession numbers
used by the College of the Siskiyous Library.

[MS251].††††††††† Adams, Ansel Easton 1902-1984.†
Mount Shasta and Shasta Dam [photograph]. In : Adams, Ansel Easton 1902-1984
and Newhall, Nancy.† The Pagent of History in Northern California.† San
Francisco, Calif.: American Trust Company, 1954. Photo No. 33.†† Contains the
only known Ansel Adams photograph of Mount Shasta (photo number 33 of this unpaginated
book). Actually, it appears that the main subject of this photo is the Shasta
Dam, and that Mt. Shasta in the background is an essential though not primary
feature. One can see Mount Shasta's 'Sun Bowl' and 'Powder Bowl.' Adams's technical
note for this photograph states: " 8 x 10, 26 1/2 component of Cooke Series
XV, Wratten A, Kodak portrait Pan, Ansco 27."
††††† The American Trust Company commissioned the book in honor of its centenary.†
Contains fifty of Adams's photographs with accompanying poetic prose by Nancy
Newhall. For the Mt. Shasta photo, the text reads : "Winter is rain; the
hills turn emerald, blossom starts forth. To the north, snow gleams deeper on
the majestic old volcano, Shasta; to the east, the Sierra glitters, a wave of
snow peaks hundreds of miles long."††††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS251].

[MS647].††††††††† Atkeson, Ray.† Mt. Shasta
[photograph]. In: Atkeson, Ray.† Northwest Heritage: The Cascade Range.†
Portland, Ore.: Charles H. Belding, 1969. pp. 44-45.†† The late Ray Atkeson
was an esteemed photographer of the Pacific Northwest landscape and was noted
for his use of color film. He has been called the 'Ansel Adams' of color and
the 'photographic laureate of Oregon.'
††††† The book contains two color photographs of Mt. Shasta. Captions read:
"Mt. Shasta, the 14,162-foot monarch of Northern California, reflects the
Alpen-glow of a winter sunset as its lower are shrouded in shadows towards the
end of the day" (p. 44), and "The lofty double volcanic cones of Mt.
Shasta reach high into sunset-tinted springtime clouds floating across volcanic
buttes and sagebrush lowlands north of the mountain" (p. 45).
††††† The book as a whole is one of the best photographic surveys of the entire
Cascade Range. It is perhaps the single most useful reference to be consulted
for identification of unknown Cascade peaks as found in uncaptioned historical
artwork and photographs.†††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS647].

[MS125].††††††††† Blair, James P. Mount Shasta
[photograph]. In: National Geographic Magazine. May, 1966. pp. 678-679.
A beautiful two page color photograph of Mount Shasta. This is one of the few
available photographs of the mountain taken from a high enough elevation to
show the plug dome in the Shastina crater. The caption for the photograph reads:
" 'Old White Lady,' as pilots in northern California fondly call snow-maned
Mount Shasta, looms..." (p. 678). 28. Art: Photography.† [MS125].

[MS253].††††††††† Britt, Peter 1819-1905.† Mt.
Shasta. 14440 ft. [photograph]. In: Miller, Alan Clark.† Photographer
of a Frontier: The Photographs of Peter Britt.† Eureka, Calif.: Interface
California Corporation, 1976. p. 75.†† This is a photograph of Mount Shasta,
date unknown. Peter Britt, one of the lesser known but very talented and innovative
photographers of the West. He settled in Jacksonville, Oregon in 1852 and worked
as a photographer in that city for more than 50 years. His elaborate collection
of camera equipment is now a major display at the Jacksonville Museum. Britt
is not as well-known as he might be, solely because he stayed within his home
region for most of his life, and thus did not photograph Yosemite, Yellowstone,
and other major landmarks of the West. But he is nonetheless considered a true
pioneering photographer of the West.†††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS253].

[MS1191].††††††††† Bry, Michael and Stewart, George
R.† This California.† Berkeley, Calif.: Diablo Press, 1965. A book of
fine writing by George R Stewart, and fine photography by Michael Bry. George
R. Stewart was Professor Emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley,
and the author of many literary and historical works. In this book he states:
"To begin at the north, we cross the Oregon line into that pleasant little
region of forest and pasture-lands which is Siskiyou County. Its dominating
feature is one of the most beautiful mountains in the world--the double-peaked
Shasta, rising in rhythmic and well proportioned lines, as if the forces of
geology had for once been directed by a conscious artist. Yet Shasta is an almost
forgotten mountain, never having been created a national or state park and standing
in a region which is not a major region for tourists" (p. 96).
††††† Contains two full-page photographs of logging scenes on the flanks of
Mt. Shasta (pp. 98-99), a two-page spread of Shasta Dam with Mount Shasta in
the distance, and a half-page photo of Mt. Shasta from Tule Lake National Wildlife
refuge.†††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS1191].

[MS362].††††††††† Colburn, Anthony T. Mt. Shasta:
A Photographic Survey. Arcata, Calif.: Humbolt State University, June, 1984
(Thesis, Master's). Bound in book form consisting of 9 pages of text and two
sheets holding 26 black and white slides. Original photographs were produced
as 8 by 10 inch negatives on tri-x film.††† †The photographs are in two categories,
one being of the mountain itself, the other being of rock samples. Text explains
that both sets of photographs have been conceived to present the mountain or
rock without any reference to the size of human beings. Most photography has
historically been done with some scale relative to humans explicit or at least
implied. Colburn explains that his photographs try to force a sort of disorientation
so that the viewer can see afresh the order and pattern in the mountain and
rocks apart from their scale.†††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS362].

[MS2215].††††††††† Cunningham, Imogen.† Mount
Shasta [photograph].† circa 1960. Color photograph. Published by Southern
Pacific as a poster for the Shasta Route. Date unknown but possibly from the
early 1960's.†††† Imogen Cunningham was one of America's foremost portrait photgraphers,
having photographed Gertrude Stein, Darius Milhaud, Alfred Stieglitz, Minor
White, Theodore Roethke, and so on. She was also a founding member of the famous
San Francisco group 'F64' (other members included Ansel Adams and Edward Weston,
both of whom also photographed Mount Shasta). This photo of Mount Shasta has
a very colorful and contrasty foreground, making it one of the finest Mount
Shasta pictures. [See also: Walsh, George et al. Contemporary Photographers.
New York. Saint Martins Press, 1982, for more biographical information.††††
28. Art: Photography.† [MS2215].

[MS1232].††††††††† English, Jane.† The Mount
Shasta Calendar (series).† Mt. Shasta, Calif.: Earth Heart, 1990-(annual).
Three calendars to-date in the series. Excellent photographs displaying the
many everchanging moods of Mt. Shasta. From the introduction to the 1993 edition:
"The 1990 calendar was envisioned by Jane English and was totally her work
-- both black -and-white photographs and writings. The 1991 and 1992 calendars
contained writings of other Mount Shasta area residents and visitors. And now
the 1993 calendar is in full color and features the photographs of several other
photographers."
††††† The 1993 edition contains photographs by Jane English, Rowena Pattee Kryder,
Michael Zanger, Rick Auerbach, Bob Gray, Walter Mathison, B. Zenon Michalak,
Pan Brian Paine, and George Stroud.†††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS1232].

[MS543].††††††††† Mt. Shasta [photograph].
In: Franklin, Max.† Baby Blue Marine.† New York: New American Library,
1976. Front cover photograph.†† Publicity photo from the 1976 movie 'Baby Blue
Marine.'†††† The movie Baby Blue Marine was filmed in part in the Mt. Shasta
region. The screenplay was written by Stanford Whitmore; the novel appears to
have been written after the screenplay. The movie director was John Hancock.
The stars were Jan-Michael Vincent and Glynnis O'Connor. Mt. Shasta is not mentioned
in the text. The plot, set in 1943,† revolves around a World War Two internment
camp for Japanese Americans. The legacy of the Tule Lake internment camp drew
the movie-makers to the Mt. Shasta region.
††††† Another photograph of Mt. Shasta appears on the 7th unnumbered page following
p. 92.†††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS543].

[MS2067].††††††††† Graves, C. Edward.† Mount
Shasta Diary: Summer of 1944. To Accompany the Set of 2x2 Kodachrome Slides
of the Mount Shasta Country in the Colorful America series.† 1945. Typed
manuscript. 26 pp. Covers the period from August 1 to August 28, 1944 with an
epilogue dated Aug. 22, 1945. From the Edward Stuhl collection.†††† The author,
a dedicated color photographer, spends one month on vacation on the slopes of
Mount Shasta. On and off he is joined by his family. The author details the
goal and accomplishments of each day, in an engaging fashion. He goes to great
lengths to climb through the chapparal to little known vantage points around
Squaw Valley, Mud Creek, the north side of the mountain, the summit, etc. He
goes out of his way to inquire from maps and locals what they can tell him of
the places names and unnamed features of the mountain. He meets several interesting
people (including the lookout man,† on top of Black Butte). Discusses Mount
Shasta from summit of Black Butte; Panther Meadows; Panther Meadows falls; Red
Butte (according to the author sometimes called the 'Paint Pot' by locals);
Mud Creek canyon; Konwakiton Glacier; Panther Creek; Upper Gray Butte; John
Schuler's trip around the mountain in the 1930's; a 'web worms' plague in the
chapparal, etc. The author enjoys the hunt for features such as the place on
an 1897 map that shows Panther Creek disappearing into the ground. Lots of wildflower
observations. Occasional humor and occasional introspection: " Setting
course by sun and compass I toiled up hill to gain some two thousand feet of
elevation that I had lost in my attempt to find the canyon crossing. After about
an hour of this I suddenly came upon my footprints made earlier in the morning.
It is difficult to describe the sensations produced by an incident of this kind.
It is like meeting an old friend in the midst of a vast and trackless forest
- but that old friend is yourself." (p. 21). Note that the author also
wrote a book† "Our Search for Wilderness: The Story of a Sixty Year Marriage"
in which he also discusses his experience of Mt. Shasta."†††† 28. Art:
Photography.† [MS2067].

[MS2210].††††††††† Jackson, William Henry. Mount
Shasta [photographs]. 1899.† http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/detrquery.html Library
Of Congress/American Memories/Detroit Publishing Company CollectionCollection
of at least six photographs of Mount Shasta, published by the Detroit Publishing
Company in 1899 and 1900. W. H. Jackson was of America's most important historical
photographers, known best for his 1870's photographs of Yellowstone which significantly
aided the creation of America's first National Park. 28. Art: Photography.†
MS2210].

[MS694].††††††††† Le Bon, Leo.† Majestic Mountains:
Roaming the Great Mountain Ranges of Six Continents.† New York: Harry N.
Abrams, Inc., 1989. pp. 34-37.†† Text and photographs by Leo Le Bon.†††† Leo
Le Bon is president and co-owner of Mountain Travel, one of the country's most
successful mountain travel tour organizations. He is an expert photographer,
and his aerial photograph (p. 34) of Mt. Shasta towering above a sea of clouds
is unique and truly beautiful.
††††† In the chapter entitled "Mt. Shasta: Cascade Range, California, U.S.A."
Le Bon gives a brief history of the Sierra Club lodge, records some of the early
ascents of the mountain, presents climbing routes, and describes some of the
more interesting mountain features.
††††† Le Bon considers the mountain from the climber's viewpoint: "Shasta
is very much a climber's mountain, attracting mountaineers from all over California,
Oregon, Washington, and beyond....In winter and spring there is the added attraction
of suburb ski mountaineering along Shasta's many broad gulches, open slopes,
and bowls" (p. 37).†††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS694].

[MS28].††††††††† Marcus.† Celestial Raise: Tiers
of Light Pouring Fourth From The Son.† Mt. Shasta, Calif.: A.S.S.K. [Association
of Sananda and Sanat Kumara], 1986. A book of quotations by spiritual 'entities'
and by spiritual teachers, interspersed with high quality photographs of Mount
Shasta and its lenticular clouds. Quotations are attributed to such personalities
as Sananda, Ramtha, Archangel Michael, Kwan Yin, and so on. Approximately 60
different sources are quoted. The spiritual quotations are representative of
many different points of view about spiritual upliftment. The photographs were
taken by Mt. Shasta resident photographers, including Kevin Lahey, Michael Zanger,
Sister Thedra, Michael Radford, Zenon Michalak, and Marcus. This is one of the
all-time best collections of Mt. Shasta photographs.†††† 28. Art: Photography.†
[MS28].

[MS568].††††††††† Martin, Charles. Mt. Shasta
[photograph]. In: National Geographic Magazine. June, 1929. Vol. 55. p.
721. Accompanies an article by Chapin Hall entitled 'California, Our Lady of
Flowers' (pp. 703-750). See also page 714 for a black and white aerial photograph
of the mountain.†††† A beautiful "autochrome" color photograph of
Mt. Shasta. A young girl and a lake are in the foreground. Contains the caption:
"When Shasta Wears No Hood, Still Pools Reflect Her Image" and the
statement: "Indian legend has it that the Great Spirit built this mountain
as a model for all others. Tribal prophets say stormy weather never threatens
when the peak is clear of clouds." 28. Art: Photography.† [MS568].

[MS1188].††††††††† Muench, David. Mount Shasta
[photograph]. Sierra. May-June 1989. p. 75. 'David Muench—A Portfolio.'†††††
Photograph of Mt. Shasta and its reflection as seen from Mt. Eddy. Foreground
lake and summit of Black Butte shown.
††††† Accompanied by the photographer's statement: "Mount Shasta, Cascade
Range, California, May 1987. The peaks of the Cascade Range are prominent and
strong, and the reflection in the water suggests that the area is very much
alive. Reflections are fascinating to me. By mirroring a landscape, they double
its strengths and serenity. This photo was made at dawn; I prefer working early
or late in the day, just before sunrise or shortly after sunset. Those are transient
moments, edges between times of day that bring out tonal depth and subtlety
of landform." 28. Art: Photography.† [MS1188].

[MS342].††††††††† Murdock, Dick 1917.† Smoke
in the Canyon: My Steam Days in Dunsmuir.† Ross, Calif.: May-Murdock Publications,
1986. Limited edition.†††† A railroad history of the Mount Shasta region written
by an engineer for the Southern Pacific Railroad's Shasta Division. Until the
1950s steam engines still pushed trains up the mountains towards Oregon. This
book helps capture the atmosphere of that era, and the photographs truly show
the grandeur of the mighty locomotives and of the entire complex of buildings,
stations,† rails, and men who made things work.
††††† This book may help those who have difficulty understanding why so many
people are railroad buffs. The shear size of the undertaking of maintaining
a mountain railroad is captured in text and picture.† Many of the photographs
show Mount Shasta. One caption, for example, reads "Twin helpers in action,
late 1940s: They're boosting an eastbound freight beneath the watchful white
peaks of Mt. Shasta. Southern Pacific photo" (p. 30). Other Mount Shasta
photographs are found on p. 70, p. 74, and p. 87. Contains a glossary of railroad
terms on pp. 130-131.†††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS342].

[MS18].††††††††† Obert, Karl.† This is California.†
Munich-Pullach: Ludwig Simon, 1958? Also published in a German language edition
entitled 'Kaliforien,' in 1958.†††† Book contains full-page black and white
high quality photographs including those entitled entitled: 'Mount Shasta from
Sacramento River' (p. 148); 'Castle Crag' (p. 149); 'Mount Shasta' (p. 153);
'Shasta Dam, largest in California' (p.151); 'Mount Lassen from Reflection Lake'
(p. 154), etc. Obert is a professional photographer whose style is reminiscent
of Ansel Adams. The book was printed in Germany and is undated, circa 1960.†††††
28. Art: Photography.† [MS18].

[MS280].††††††††† Onthank, Don. Mount Shasta
Southwest Side from Sand Flat [photograph]. In: Mazama: A Record of Mountaineering
in the Pacific Northwest. 1969. p. [90]. 75th Anniversary Issue†††† Full-page
photograph by Onthank, one of a series in a feature titled 'Giants of the Northwest:
Portraits of the Sixteen Major Peaks.'†† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS280].

[MS42].††††††††† Palmquist, Peter E.† The Photographers
of Siskiyou County, California, 1850-1920.† 1978. Photocopy. Unpublished
typewritten manuscript. 1978 revision. 7pp.†††† Six page alphabetical list of
approximately 150 photographers and studios, each entry with corresponding dates
and locations of employment. Each photographer listed here worked or photographed
in Siskiyou County at least briefly sometime between 1850 and 1920. Many of
these photographers took pictures of Mount Shasta. Peter E. Palmquist is a well-known
photography historian and is the author of many books on the photographers of
the West.†††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS42].

[MS706].††††††††† Palmquist, Peter E. Silver
Plates Among the Goldfields: The Photographers of Siskiyou County 1850-1906.
In: California History: The Magazine of the California Historical Society. June,
1986. Vol. 65. No. 2. pp. 114-124. This article is about famed photographer
Carlton Watkins's assignment to photograph Mt. Shasta.† Clarence King led the
40th Parallel Geological Survey and hired Watkins as the official photographer.
A Watkins photograph of Mt. Shasta accompanies the article.
††††† This article also presents biographical information about Samuel Franklin
Emmons, an assistant geologist also working on the expedition at Mt. Shasta
(p. 154). 28. Art: Photography.† [MS706].

[MS53].††††††††† [Siskiyou County Historical Society].
Mount Shasta, 1910 [photograph]. In: The Siskiyou Pioneer in Folklore,
Fact and Fiction and Yearbook. Siskiyou County Historical Society (Weed Issue).
1967. Vol. 3. No. 10. An exceptional fold-out reproduction of a photograph of
Mount Shasta, as seen from the north with the Weed Lumber Company mill in the
foreground. The photo is dated July, 1910.† This particular photograph demonstrates
both the grandeur of Mount Shasta and the magnitude of the lumber operations
of the Weed mill (inside front cover)
††††† This issue of the Siskiyou Pioneer also contains a fold-out pocket map
of the town of Sisson as it was in 1913, reproduced from an original map. The
map sheet also contains a reproduction of a panorama photograph of Mount Shasta
as seen from the southwest, with the town of Sisson in the foreground (inside
front cover)
††††† Contains several other reproductions of photographs of Mount Shasta, and
also contains dozens of articles about early years in Weed. 28. Art: Photography.†
[MS53].

[MS341].††††††††† Sutherland, Neil.† Mount Shasta
[photographs]. In: Harris, Bill.† Northern California: Land of Many Dreams.†
New York: Crescent Books, 1985. pp. 82-90.†† Large format 'coffee table' type
book with color photographs. The series of Mount Shasta photographs by Sutherland
include views from Highway 97, from Highway I-5 in the Shasta Valley (which
is also the dust jacket back cover photo), from the south shore of Lake Siskiyou,
and from Gumboot Creek.†††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS341].

[MS2216].††††††††† Taber, Isaiah West 1830-1912.†
Mount Shasta [photograph].† circa 1900. According to several sources,
including the Bancroft Library, Taber acquired the negatives of Carleton Watkins.
Thus photographs printed by Taber under his name could actually have been originally
photographed by Taber or Watkins. Taber had a gallery on Montgomery Street in
San Francisco. He is one of the best known early California photographers.††††
28. Art: Photography.† [MS2216].

[MS727].††††††††† Tibbitts, H. C.† Mount Shasta,
Siskiyou County [photograph]. In: Elder, Paul.† California the Beautiful:
Camera Studies by California Artists with Selections in Prose and Verse from
Western Writers.† San Francisco, Calif.: Paul Elder and Company Publishers,
1911. p. 73.†† H. C. Tibbitts was a professional photographer of the California
landscape. This particular photograph is full-page, and tipped-in. The caption
reads "Majestic Mt. Shasta, in isolated grandeur, rises 14,000 feet from
the level of the sea, dominating the landscape during many hours of travel with
its silver-crowned serenity."†††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS727].

[MS2069].††††††††† Watkins, Carleton E.† Untitled
Photograph [Mount Shasta and Shastina, Siskiyou County,; about 12 miles from
Sheep Rock]. In: Ostroff, Eugene.† Western Views and Eastern Visions.†
Washington: Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service with the cooperation
of the United States Geological Society, 1981. 118 p, ill., 28 cm.†† Catalog
for a traveling† exhibition, 1981. One photograph dated 1870 of Mount Shasta†
taken from the east side of the Shasta Valley, on page 114.†††† An unusual early
view of Mount Shasta because of the east Shasta Valley vantage point. This photo
as taken as part of the King Survey.†††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS2069].

[MS252].††††††††† Watkins, Carleton E. 1829-1916.†
Commencement of the Whitney Glacier, Summit of Mount Shasta [photograph].
In: Palmquist, Peter E.† Carleton E. Watkins: Photographer of the American
West.† Albuquerque, N.M.: Amon Carter Museum and the University of New Mexico
Press, 1983. Plate No. 45.†† Carleton Watkins was one of the West's great 19th
century photographers. The photo of the Whitney glacier is one of a celebrated
series of Watkins photographs of Mount Shasta taken systematically around and
on the mountain during the 40th Parallel Survey in 1870, Clarence King in charge.
For this particular photograph Watkins had to carry a heavy load of equipment
high onto Mount Shasta. King had insisted on using Watkins: "....$3,000
dollars for the summer's work. This is very high in price but he is by far the
most skillful operator in America" (p. 42).
††††† Also appearing in this book is a well-known photograph of the survey's
"Camp at Mt. Shasta," with quotations from King about camp life at
Sisson's in the company of photographer Watkins and artist Gilbert Munger (pp.
40 -41). They spent six weeks in the Mount Shasta region.†††† 28. Art: Photography.†
[MS252].

[MS250].††††††††† Weston, Edward 1886-1958.† Mount
Shasta [photograph]. In: Weston, Charis Wilson and Weston, Edward 1886-1958.†
California and the West.† New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1940. 'A
U. S. Camera Book with Ninety-six Photographs'. Third Printing. 127 pp. plus
96 plates. Note that a new edition of the book was published in 1978, with only
64 plates, in which the photograph of Mount Shasta was not reprinted.†††† Contains
a photograph of Mount Shasta (following p. 112) as seen from the north. This
is a book of photographs by Edward Weston. The book resulted from a project
commissioned by the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation in 1937, giving Edward Weston
12 months and two thousand dollars to complete "The making of a series
of photographs of the West."
††††† The text was written by Weston's wife. She writes about a cold October
at the Lava beds and Glass Mountain and then about driving west, as "Mount
Shasta dodged in and out of view, growing larger and higher with each reappearance,
until we came around directly under its bow....Our first act on reaching Yreka
that afternoon was to march on a drygoods store and purchase two suits of long
woolen underwear. In the Lava Beds we had both worn three shirts and three pairs
of sox simultaneously, though Edward had not sunk to my degraded practice of
keeping pajamas on under my clothes throughout the day" (p.97).
††††† Note that Edward Weston has become one of the most important figures in
the history of photography. In the late 1980s an original photograph by Edward
Weston, not of Mount Shasta however, attained the honor of being sold at auction
for a world record price for a single photograph, selling for well over a hundred
thousand dollars.†††† 28. Art: Photography.† [MS250].